Dart game



Oct. 31, 1950 J. MALO 2,527,683

DART GAME Filed Oct. 12, 1945 /0 INVENTOR.

Ja/m 7770/0 Patented Oct. 31, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT oFncE John Malo, Chicago, Ill.

Application October 12, 1945, Serial No. 621,903

2 Claims. (Cl. 27395) This invention relates to dart games and has for its principal object the provision of a new and improved game of this type.

It is a main object of the invention to provide a dart game that can be played safely by relatively inexperienced players, such as children.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a dart which, when thrown, descends rapidly and travels in a path quickly bending toward vertical.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a dart game which can be manufactured with high quality at low cost.

Further objects of the invention not specifically mentioned here will be apparent from the description and claims which follow, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of example, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the game;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the game;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the dart drawn to an enlarged scale.

Figure 4 is a side elevational View of the dart; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view showing the hook drawn to an enlarged scale.

Dart games are old in the prior art, of which I am aware. Heretofore darts have consisted of a main body, usually cylindrical, and having a sharpened point projecting from its larger or head end, and feathers or other suitable guiding vanes secured to and projecting radially outwardly from its smaller tail end. Targets have consisted of cork or other soft fibrous material, on which suitable scoring zones have been marked. The targets have been hung in a vertical position and the darts thrown in substantially horizontal position to drive the pointed members of the darts into the soft material of the target to register a score.

A dart capable of maintaining substantially horizontal flight when thrown, and having a sharpened point, presents an element of danger when in the hands of irresponsible persons, such as children. When thrown with suflicient force the sharpened point is capable of penetrating into the body, and should it strike an eye is capable of seriously injuring that member.

The present invention provides a new game which not only differs from the dart games of the prior art, but also is much safer than these prior art devices. 'In its preferred form the game consists of a suitable target which may well be one of the targets of the prior art devices, which target is disposed in a horizontal position, and may be conveniently laid upon the floor. A small wire is fixed at one end to suitable means, which may be an anchor located on the floor, a hook in a side wall adjacent the floor, the leg of a chair or other articles of furniture, or the like. The opposite end of the wire is held in the hand of the player at a convenient height above the floor, say for example, at or near the players waistline.

The darts used in my improved game have conventional body and point similar to the prior art darts and have afiixed thereto vanes or supporting surfaces resembling an airplane. These vanes are located well aft of the center of gravity of the dart, and cause it to fall in a steeply vertical path. The dart is also provided with a hook by which it is suspended 'on the wire and when released slides therealong toward the target. By snapping the wire with the finger or tapping it with a lead pencil, or other similar object, or by whipping the wire, the player can disengage the sliding dart from the wire in the vicinity of the target to permit it to fall onto and stick on the target to register a score. Should the dart be thrown or attempted to be thrown in a substantiall horizontal position, it will quickly bend downwardly out of that position into a substantially vertical position, in which it will stick in the floor or fall harmlessly thereon.

Referring now to the drawings in more detail: The target I is shown as consisting of a generally rectangular member composed of a material soft enough to permit the point of the dart to freely imbed itself therein. Cork or relatively soft fibrous materials are frequently used for this purpose.

The target I carries in the example shown, a plurality of concentriccircles 2, each of which may be given a different scoring value, as is the custom with targets of this kind.

Located adjacent to the target I and in substantial alignment with the center of the circles thereon, is a suitable anchor 3 to which a thin wire 4 is fixed. While the anchor 3 is shown as a cone, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that any device for anchoring one end of the wire 4 may be used within the teachings of the invention. The opposite end of the wire 4 is held at some distance above the floor,

either in the hand of the player, as indicated in the drawing, or, if desired, may be attached to the belt or other part of the players clothing to support the wire while at the same time leaving both hands free. With the wire so supported it should extend upwardly from the anchor 3 at an angle of at least thirty degrees. This slope is suflicient to cause the dart, when released, to slide down the wire toward the anchor at a fairly rapid rate. By raising or lowering the upper end of the wire, the speed of the dart can be controlled as desired.

The dart used in this game consists of an elongated body 5 having a large head portion and a smaller tail portion 6. Usually darts are composed of wood, but other materials may be used. 'A point, I, preferably-composed of metal and sharpened, projects forwardly of the head portion. Most dart bodies are round, although other shapes may be used within the teachings of the invention.

Fixed to the under side of the main body of the dart and in juxtaposition to the transverse median line of it is a wing 8 which projects upwardly and outwardly from both sides of the dart body. This wing may be composed of heavy paper or other fibrous material, or of cellulose or cellulose derivatives, as desired. As shown, the wing 8 is shaped to resemble the wing of an airplane.

Also fixed to the dart body at the tail end thereof is a tail surface 9 which, in the example shown, is disposed vertically'and substantially bisects the dihedral of the wings. The tail surface shown is shaped to resemble the tail surface of an airplane and may be composed of a fibrous material or a cellulose derivative, as desired.

lThe main body portion of the dart carries a as required, and adjusts the slope and tautness of the wire to his liking. He then hooks a first one of the darts on the wire, and then releases the dart. As the dart approaches the target and at the instant that the player thinks is proper, the wire is shaken to unhook the dart from it to permit that dart to descend in an arcuate path onto the target. The wire may be shaken by tapping with a small object 12, which may be a lead pencil or rod of similar diameter, or if de sired, the wire may be tapped by snapping the finger against it. The radius of the are through which the dart travels will depend upon the speed of the dart which in turn depends upon the slope and tautness of the wire and considerable skill is required to release the dart so as to make it strike a desired spot on'the target.

The game apparatus contemplated will include plurality of darts,,say 5 in number, and the player will release the darts one after the other,

manipulating the wire from side to side and varying the tension thereof, thereby controlling the flight of the dart in an effort to get it to strike the high point region of the target, which is assumed to be the smaller of the several concentric circles. The score of'the game is determined by adding the point value of the several darts sticking in the target. When the first player has released all of the darts and the score has been computed, a second player does likewise. A game may consist of a predetermined number of innings by each player with the scores accumulated from inning to inning, or a game may consist of a predetermined number of points, say 1,000, with the v disposed horizontally it will not be diflicult to hold the darts thereon.

While I have chosen to illustrate my invention by showing a more or less conventional type of target, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that scenic or other desired targets may be used within the teachings of the invention. Vanes attached to the body of the dart are shown as representations of elements of air planes in the example illustrated, and here again the details can be varied by one skilled in the art within the teachings of the invention.

The game of my invention possesses many distinct advantages. It is interesting and gives rise to thedevelopment of considerable skill in controlling the flight of the dart onto a desired portion of the target. The game is safe and if one of the darts is thrown at the head of a, player from a few feet distant, it will descend, and if it strikes the player at all, will strike at a considerable distance below the players eyes. The game can be constructed as a serviceable unit economically and sold at a low cost.

Having thus complied with the statutes and shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, what I consider new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent, is pointed out in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A dart game comprising, a target disposed in a horizontal position, a line, means supporting said line taut over said target with the line disposed at an angle with respect to the target, a dart, hook means on said dart for hanging the same on said line, said dart when released sliding down said line toward said target, and means for vibrating the line thereby to unhook the dart therefrom to permit the dart to dive onto the target to register a score.

2. A dart game comprising, a target disposed in a horizontal position, a wire, means adjacent to said target for anchoring one end of said wire to permit a player to stretch the wire taut and place the same at an angle over said target, a dart, vanes on said dart disposed rearwardly of the center of gravity thereof to cause the dart when thrown or dropped to travel downwardly at an acute angle, a hook on said dart for hanging the same on said wire, said dart when released sliding said wire toward said target, and means for snapping the wire to unhook the dart therefrom to permit the dart to dive onto the target to register a score.

JOHN MALO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Sept. 27, 1919 

